Lesson 293 - Senior
Memory Verse
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
Cross References
I Altar of Sin
1. A man sent by God came to Bethel to denounce Jeroboam's idolatrous altar, [1KG:13:1]; [HOS:8:11].
2. The man of God foretold the destruction of the altar, and a sign was given, [1KG:13:2-3]; [ISA:7:14-16]; [EXO:3:12]; [MAT:1:23].
3. Jeroboam resisted the Prophet and was stricken of God, [1KG:13:4-5]; [NUM:12:8-10]; [ACT:13:9-11].
4. Jeroboam's hand was restored through the Prophet's intercessory prayer, [1KG:13:6].
II Disobedience
1. The king's offer of hospitality was refused by the Prophet, [1KG:13:7-10]; [PS:94:20]; [EPH:5:11]; [PRO:23:6-8].
2. An old man of Bethel by persuasive lies induced the Prophet to forsake the commandment of God and follow him, [1KG:13:11-18]; [MAT:26:74]; [GEN:27:18-19]; [LUK:22:48].
3. The Prophet of God believed a lie rather than the word of the Lord, [1KG:13:19]; [TIT:1:10-16]; [MAT:15:7-9]; [1TM:1:6-7]; [1TM:4:2]; [1TM:6:3-5]; [2TM:4:3-4]; [2PE:2:1-3].
III Judgment
1. The man of God received the word of the Lord that he would not finish his journey because of his disobedience, [1KG:13:20-22]; [1SM:13:13-14]; [1SM:15:22-23].
2. God's judgment was carried out against the man of God, [1KG:13:23-25]; [LEV:10:3]; [NUM:20:2], [NUM:20:24]; [1SM:4:18]; [ACT:5:1-10].
3. The man of God was buried by the false prophet who claimed him for a brother, [1KG:13:26-32].
4. The judgment of God was carried out against the altar of Jeroboam and Jeroboam's house as was predicted, [1KG:13:33-34]; [2KG:23:15-18]; [ISA:46:5-11].
Notes
Idolatry and Disobedience
Our lesson on Jeroboam's altar and the disobedient Prophet has much of value for the Christian today. In it we learn again that "God is no respecter of persons” [ACT:10:34]) and that His judgment will fall with the same severity upon one of His own who sins against Him as it will upon an idol worshiper. The words of the Prophet Samuel when he denounced Saul for his violation of the word of the Lord seem very pertinent to this lesson: "Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” [1SM:15:22-23]).
The twofold manifestation of God's judgment in this lesson is remarkable because it was directed against two deadly evils: namely, idolatry and a compromising of the word of the Lord. We have learned from past studies that idol worship was not tolerated, in the least degree, among God's people. Israel was supposed to be "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD,” and as such was expected to be entirely separated unto Him and His cause. There is no alternative with God but to pronounce judgment upon all such idolatrous worship as Jeroboam instituted. His idolatrous altar was wilfully and purposely established to lead Israel away from the worship of Jehovah that he might further his personal aims and ambitions. When the man of God came to cry out against this altar of sin, and gave a sign of the coming judgment of God, this was the final message of God to an apostate and reprobate king. It has often been said that being apostate is accomplished in two stages: first, man leaves God, and finally, God leaves man. Judgment is the last phase of God's dealings with men; and for Jeroboam the day of mercy was about gone.
No Compromise
God had told His messenger that he was to "eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way” that he came, while in the process of delivering his message. When the king desired the Prophet to tarry with him, the Prophet refused, which was the right attitude and action to take. Unfortunately, the Prophet of God did not continue his refusal to partake of the fare of this idolatrous people. The Lord has said, "When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it” [EZE:33:13]).
An old man of Bethel caught up with the Prophet as he sat under an oak; and by telling him lies the old man persuaded the Prophet to return with him. Obedience became sin! While the Prophet was partaking of this man's fare, the word of the Lord came that death was the penalty for the transgression. This man of God who fell prey to the lies of a false prophet may not have been the first such victim, but he is a good example of what happens to the man who forsakes the truth of God to believe and follow a lie. One of Satan's most successful devices to destroy men's souls has been his impersonation of Christ's ambassadors. He often comes as an angel of light; and it is no marvel if his ministers are transformed to resemble an angel of light. (See [2CO:11:14-15].)
The foolishness of following dreams, visions, prophecies, revelations, lights, or any other so-called manifestations of God's Spirit without subjecting all such things to the word of the Lord cannot be overemphasized. God's Word is the highest, most complete, and all-encompassing revelation that God will make to man of His will until He comes again. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” [ISA:8:20]).
God does sometimes lead His people in marvellous and supernatural ways, as He led Israel out of Egypt by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; but when He does use such things, they are always in accordance with the Word of God. God is glorified in these things; and never do they contradict what God has said in His Word. Hordes of false prophets are abroad in the world today, emissaries of Satan, all claiming to be endowed with peculiar spiritual gifts and specific knowledge of the will of God that are not expressed in the Bible. Many people have been beguiled, as was the Prophet of our lesson, into following these false prophets because of their smooth stories and glib tongues.
Fellowship with Iniquity
The man of God, in turning away from the commandment of the Lord to follow a teller of lies, not only sinned but became a partaker of the evil deeds of his associate. He set a public example by partaking of the fare of this false prophet and having fellowship with him. He was destroying the separation of the true body of Christ from all that was fraudulent and evil and which operated under the guise of religion. The children of God are forbidden to fraternise with all manner of men who merely claim to be followers of Christ but who are not. Paul, wrote to the church at Ephesus, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” [EPH:5:11]). John the Beloved wrote to the saints, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” ([1JN:1:10-11]). (Read also [GAL:1:8].) The old man of Bethel certainly did not bring the truth to the Prophet of God but a lie of his own conceiving.
Once a person who knows the truth of God accepts Satan's substitute for the Word of God, he seldom returns to his true faith in Christ. There are many verses of Scripture that warn men, in the most urgent language, of the danger and penalty for those who forsake the truth of God to follow the lies of Satan. God had forewarned His Prophet against this very possibility, that he might not be taken unawares and cause the wrath of God to come upon himself; even as He warned Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden that the day they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. We know from our lesson that the Prophet of God believed this warning, because of his refusal to accept Jeroboam's hospitality. A little later he forsook the warning because one claimed to have a message from God concerning him that he himself had not received.
While God usually reveals His will to the individual concerned, by His Spirit and the Word of God, He can also reveal His will to us through ministerial counsel. God's ministers are ordained as shepherds of the flock of God. When an issue is questionable or in doubt, the will of God can usually be ascertained by seeking advice and counsel from God's ministry.
Seeking advice from the ministry is according to the Word of God. Paul told the saints: "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” [HEB:13:17]). An exhortation in the Old Testament states: "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper” [2CH:20:20]). (Read also [2CO:10:8]; [2CO:13:10]; [ACT:15:1-6].) Advice received from God's ministers will be in accordance with the Word of God, and more often than not will be quoted from the Word of God.
This was not the situation at all with the Prophet of God. He was met by a stranger who claimed to be a man of God. Evidently the Prophet of God accepted this man's claim without putting forth any effort to discern the truth of the stranger's statements. The saint of God is not left without help to discern between the false and the right. The Spirit of God and the Bible are the two infallible guides in the world wherewith the saint of God can detect his Master's voice and will. God expects us to listen to the Spirit of God and examine by the Word of God those who come to us in this manner, that we might know whom we are to accept or reject. For a soul to forsake the known will of God is a folly of the worst kind. He should test the authority or truth of every message that comes to him. If the witness and guidance of the Spirit of God are ignored and disobeyed, the Spirit of God will leave that soul, and that soul will become a prey of the devil. (Read [2TM:2:26].)
This present-day evil of men's turning away from the truth and the instruction and guidance of God, to listen to the lies of false prophets, will reap a terrible harvest. False doctrine will become widespread and reach its climax in the reign of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist shall declare himself to be God, and men will believe him. The Bible states: "Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2TS:2:10-12]). Because men turn from the truth, God will make them believe a lie, ensuring their just damnation. Because they will not follow Christ, they shall be made to serve Satan. (Read [ISA:8:6-8].)
We do not know just how much understanding the Prophet of God had of such matters as fellowshipping with teachers of lies, but God had warned him in regard to tarrying and eating with another in this land. That warning by God should have been enough to guide him, and it was sufficient if the Prophet of God would have heeded it. God is never unjust nor unmerciful. When the man of God was destroyed by a lion, that was the just judgment of God. His fellowship with the false and lying prophet was such a serious breach of all that God had commanded him that the judgment of God fell upon him for his disobedience.
To presume on God's mercy and deliberately indulge in sin is the great transgression. The Psalmist prayed to be kept from such a terrible sin [PS:19:13]). But in these days just prior to the return of Jesus Christ to earth, it seems that many are unafraid of God's judgment upon such presumption. Many openly embrace and help to preach false doctrine, and as a result they become ensnared by the devil, and will, in the end, suffer a like condemnation.
In these last days, when all manner of religions abound – the vast majority of them being only the philosophies and fancies of men -– the Christian will do well to follow the example of the saints of God who heard Paul preach. They went to their homes and "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” [ACT:17:11]). We can rest in confidence and peace of soul in the words of Jesus that "if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” [JHN:7:17]). That soul who desires to know the will of God and the truth of God will hear the voice of God and will not be deceived; but the one who listens to every talebearer who claims the name of Christ, without trying the spirits by the Spirit and the Word of God, will soon be swallowed up in the snare of Satan.
Questions
1. Why did the Prophet come to cry out against the altar of Jeroboam?
2. Of what two evils are we warned in this lesson?
3. Why did the man of God disobey the Lord's command?
4. Why did the judgment of God come upon this man of God?
5. How is the Christian to know who really is from God and who is not?
6. What will happen to the soul that forsakes the truth of God to believe a lie?
7. Why will people believe a lie in the last days rather than the truth?
8. What does the Bible tell us about having fellowship with false prophets?